In semiconductor integrated circuit devices for use in power electronics, power metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors and insulation gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) are often used. For a semiconductor integrated circuit device, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit for protecting internal circuits from a surge voltage due to, for example, electrostatic charges or dielectric loads. The ESD protection circuit is formed with diodes, resistors or the like.
The period during which ESD voltage is applied to a terminal is between 1 ns and 10 ns, which is short. Therefore, there is a problem with the ESD protection circuit that, if the ESD protection circuit is positioned separately from an output terminal to which the ESD voltage is applied, the response time is delayed, and the ESD charge is not quickly absorbed. Thereby, degradation and breakdown of the output transistors and internal elements occur if the ESD charge is not quickly absorbed. As a result, there is a problem that desired ESD durability is not obtained.